Big underdog Wyoming scares SDSU

Wyoming (4-2) at SDSU (4-2)

Saturday: 7 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium

On the air: Ch. 4; The Mtn.; 600-AM

Line: SDSU favored by 18

Series: Wyoming leads 17-15

Easy ride from here?

Take away Boise State (7-0) on Nov. 19, and SDSU's remaining opponents have a 7-21 record against major college teams. Records here do not include games against teams from the lower Football Championship Subdivision:

Saturday: Wyoming (2-2)

Nov. 5: New Mexico (0-6)

Nov. 12: at Colorado State (2-4)

Nov. 26: at UNLV (1-4)

Dec. 3: Fresno State (2-5)

Rocky Long doesn’t agree with this theory. Neither do his players.

But certain facts support the premise that the rest of the season should be mostly easy for San Diego State.

Besides a home game against Boise State on Nov. 19, the combined record of SDSU’s other five remaining opponents is 7-21 against major college teams. Even if Boise State (7-0) is included, SDSU’s future strength of schedule ranks 86th out of 120 teams nationally.

So go ahead and ask. Is SDSU mentally tough enough to avoid taking any team too lightly?

“There’s so much more to a team than what’s on paper, especially when you’re playing guys in conference,” SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley said. “There’s a lot of pride on the line, a lot of intangible things. We’ve got a group of leaders on both sides of the ball to make sure we’re not resting on their laurels.”

The problem is a new one for SDSU, which faces Wyoming Saturday in a 7 p.m. game at Qualcomm Stadium. Previously, the big issue for the Aztecs (4-2) was being able to beat the middle- or lower-tier team in the Mountain West.

After finally building a winning team last year, a big issue now is not taking any opponent for granted. If they do, the Aztecs suddenly might find themselves in a familiar spot: near the bottom of the league.

“Hopefully we’ve matured and we’re smart enough not to fall for it, but it is a concern, yeah,” said Long, SDSU’s head coach

The Aztecs are an 18-point favorite against the Cowboys (4-2) and likely will be even more heavily favored next week against New Mexico (0-7).

To counter such prevailing wisdom, Long went out of his way to manage expectations this week. He said at his news conference Tuesday that Wyoming and SDSU “are as evenly matched as they can be.” He called it the most important game of the season for both teams because both are in the hunt for the conference championship.

He also told his team Sunday that it better prepare well or “we’re going to get our butts beat.”

SDSU’s fans aren’t quite buying it, though. Earlier this week, only about 25,000 tickets had been distributed for Saturday’s game. That means if the game does get dangerous for the Aztecs, a big crowd probably won’t be there to help them.

And they very well might need it.

Wyoming’s four wins have come against Weber State, Texas State, Bowling Green and UNLV – all small schools or struggling teams. But the Cowboys still have a way of making any team nervous because they often run trick plays or unusual formations that catch teams by surprise.

They also have a freshman quarterback, Brett Smith, who has completed 59.1 percent of his passes in an offense that usually features four wide receivers at a time.

“They will throw every formation at you and kind of run the same plays out of them,” SDSU linebacker Miles Burris said.

On defense, Long points out that Wyoming held SDSU running back Ronnie Hillman to just 44 yards last year. This year, the Cowboys are struggling against the run, ranking 100th nationally with 195 yards allowed per game.

That might seem like another advantage for SDSU because Hillman, a sophomore, currently leads the nation in rushing with 138.8 yards per game. Just keep in mind the Aztecs haven’t played a game in 15 days – a 41-27 win at Air Force on Oct. 13. As a result, Long said he was concerned about "rust."

"I’m nervous about the game a little bit," Long said.

Even his boss, SDSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk, said he’s feeling the same vibe.